Former ERAU guard Mondragon may find future in coaching

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 4:53 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 12:10 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH — Daniel Mondragon feels like rising high school basketball players can relate to his story.

Not recruited heavily out of high school, the point guard arrived on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University without a scholarship and without much of an idea in which direction life would lead him.

“I moved into the dorms not knowing the coaching staff, not knowing if I was going to make the team or not,” Mondragon said.

His passion for engineering waned, prompting him to change his major to human factors psychology halfway through his freshman year. His passion for basketball was as strong as ever, but he hardly stepped on the court in either of his first two seasons.

But he refused to quit.

“I was the greatest teammate I could be — the guys loved me,” Mondragon said.

Mondragon, a recent graduate who was both a captain and a starter his final two seasons, plans to teach dozens of high school athletes lessons about life on and off the court this week during Embry-Riddle's basketball team camp.

He has spent the last two mornings teaching ball handling and intangibles during training sessions that start at 7 a.m.

Intangibles have defined Mondragon's time at Embry-Riddle in the minds of coaches and teammates.

“Everything Daniel Mondragon commits to, he has tremendous passion in that he's going to give you unbelievable effort and commitment to details and execution at the highest level,” Eagles head coach Steve Ridder said.

“He has a very good knowledge of the game,” junior center Cesar Pastrana said. “Usually point guards can be very successful as head coaches because they are the ones that direct the game.”

While Mondragon feels that the majority of players who have solid intangibles are born with them, coaches can often extract extra mental ability from their players.

As an instructor, he looks to show players the true meaning of mental toughness.

“They think toughness is fouling hard or acting like this tough guy, but it's not,” Mondragon said. “Being tough, we consider in this program, is taking a charge in the fourth quarter when you're exhausted. It's that extra mile, that extra effort.”

As he works on a Master's degree in his field, Mondragon will serve as a graduate assistant this upcoming season. While he is still ultimately undecided on his career, coaching is certainly not out of the question.

“My four years here have been the biggest blessing of my life to be honest with you,” Mondragon said. “The way I look at it, the longer I can be around this program, I'm in no rush to leave.”

<p><b>DAYTONA BEACH — </b>Daniel Mondragon feels like rising high school basketball players can relate to his story.</p><p>Not recruited heavily out of high school, the point guard arrived on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University without a scholarship and without much of an idea in which direction life would lead him.</p><p>“I moved into the dorms not knowing the coaching staff, not knowing if I was going to make the team or not,” Mondragon said. </p><p>His passion for engineering waned, prompting him to change his major to human factors psychology halfway through his freshman year. His passion for basketball was as strong as ever, but he hardly stepped on the court in either of his first two seasons.</p><p>But he refused to quit.</p><p>“I was the greatest teammate I could be — the guys loved me,” Mondragon said.</p><p>Mondragon, a recent graduate who was both a captain and a starter his final two seasons, plans to teach dozens of high school athletes lessons about life on and off the court this week during Embry-Riddle's basketball team camp.</p><p>He has spent the last two mornings teaching ball handling and intangibles during training sessions that start at 7 a.m.</p><p>Intangibles have defined Mondragon's time at Embry-Riddle in the minds of coaches and teammates.</p><p>“Everything Daniel Mondragon commits to, he has tremendous passion in that he's going to give you unbelievable effort and commitment to details and execution at the highest level,” Eagles head coach Steve Ridder said.</p><p>“He has a very good knowledge of the game,” junior center Cesar Pastrana said. “Usually point guards can be very successful as head coaches because they are the ones that direct the game.”</p><p>While Mondragon feels that the majority of players who have solid intangibles are born with them, coaches can often extract extra mental ability from their players.</p><p>As an instructor, he looks to show players the true meaning of mental toughness.</p><p>“They think toughness is fouling hard or acting like this tough guy, but it's not,” Mondragon said. “Being tough, we consider in this program, is taking a charge in the fourth quarter when you're exhausted. It's that extra mile, that extra effort.”</p><p>As he works on a Master's degree in his field, Mondragon will serve as a graduate assistant this upcoming season. While he is still ultimately undecided on his career, coaching is certainly not out of the question.</p><p>“My four years here have been the biggest blessing of my life to be honest with you,” Mondragon said. “The way I look at it, the longer I can be around this program, I'm in no rush to leave.”</p>